Saints

Introduction

All
Christians are called to be saints. Saints are persons in heaven (officially
canonized or not), who lived vitreous lives in a heroic way or were martyred for the faith, and who are
worthy of imitation.

In
official Church procedures there are three steps to sainthood: a candidate
becomes "Venerable," then "Blessed" and then "Saint."
Venerable is the title given to a deceased person recognized formally by the
pope as having lived a heroically virtuous life. To be beatified and recognized as a Blessed,
one miracle acquired through the candidate's intercession is required in
addition to recognition of heroic virtue.
Canonization requires a second miracle after beatification. The pope may waive these requirements. A
miracle is not required prior to a martyr's beatification, but one is required
before canonization.

Key Terms

Beatification--
the second stage in the process of proclaiming a person a saint; occurs after a
diocese or eparchy and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has conducted
a rigorous investigation into the person's life and writings to determine
whether he or she demonstrates a heroic level of virtue or suffered martyrdom.
A miracle attributed to the person's intercession must be proved.

Blessed
--
title bestowed on a person who has been beatified and accorded limited liturgical
veneration.

Canonization
– the
formal process by which the Church declares a person to be a saint and worthy
of universal veneration.

Congregation
for the Causes of Saints – a department of the Roman Curia, established originally as the
Congregation of Rites by Pope Sixtus V in 1588. Reorganized and renamed in 1969
by Pope Paul VI, and again in 1983 by Pope John Paul II. Some of the
responsibilities of the Congregation include making recommendations to the pope
on beatifications and canonizations, and the authentication and preservation of
sacred relics.

Miracle
–something
that has occurred by the grace of God through the intercession of a Venerable,
or Blessed which is scientifically inexplicable.

Petitioner
–
party initiating an action in canon law. In the case of a sainthood cause, the
petitioner is one who asks the diocesan bishop to begin the investigation which
could ultimately lead to canonization. (A bishop may also begin a cause on his
own initiative, in which case he is the petitioner.)

Positio
– a
comprehensive summary of all documentation; in this context, there are two: the
one summarizing the investigation of a candidate's life and heroic virtues or
martyrdom and a second for any alleged miracles. The positio is prepared
during the Roman phase by the postulator with the assistance of someone from the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Postulator
--
person appointed to guide and oversee the cause. One oversees the cause at the
diocesan or eparchial level (Phase I); the Roman postulator, oversees all
aspects of Phases II and III.

Prefect
--
the head of any of the Roman curial congregations, usually a cardinal.

Relator
–
person appointed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to assemble the
historic documentation of the candidate for canonization.

Saint – the title given to
someone who has been formally canonized by the Church as sharing eternal life
with God, and therefore offered for public veneration and imitation.

Servant
of God --
the title given to a candidate for sainthood whose cause is still under
investigation, prior to being declared Venerable.

Venerable
– the
title given to a candidate for sainthood whose cause has not yet reached the
beatification stage but whose heroic virtue has been declared by the pope.

History

In the first five
centuries of the Church, the process for recognizing a saint was based on
public acclaim or the vox populi, vox Dei
(voice of the people, voice of God). There was no formal canonical process
as understood by today's standards. Beginning in the sixth century and
continuing into the twelfth century, the intervention of the local bishop was
required before someone could be canonized. The intervention of the local
bishop usually began with a request from the local community for the bishop to
recognize someone a saint. Upon studying the request and a written biography,
if he found it favorable, the bishop would typically issue a decree,
legitimatize the liturgical cult and thereby canonize the person.

Starting in the tenth
century, a cause proceeded with the usual steps, i.e. the person's reputation
would spread, a request to the local bishop from the people to declare the
person a saint occurred, and a biography would be written for the bishop's
review. Now however, the bishop would collect eyewitness testimony of those who
knew the person and who had witnessed miracles, and he would provide a summary
of the case to the Pope for his approval.
The Pope then reviewed the cause, and if he approved it, he issued a
decree declaring the person a canonized saint. The first documented case of
papal invention is by Pope John XV on January 31, 993 for the canonization of
St. Ulric. When Pope Sixtus V
reorganized the Roman Curia in 1588 he established the Congregation for Sacred
Rites. One of its functions was to
assist the Pope with reviewing causes. Except for a few canonical developments,
from 1588 the process of canonization remained the same until 1917 when a
universal Code of Canon Law was promulgated.

The 1917 code
contained 145 canons (cc. 1999- 2144) on causes of canonization, and mandated
that an episcopal process and an apostolic process be conducted. The episcopal
process consisted of the local bishop verifying the reputation of the person,
ensuring that a biography existed, collecting eye witness testimony and the
person's written works. All of this was then forwarded to the Congregation for
Sacred Rites. The apostolic process
consisted of reviewing the evidence submitted, collecting more evidence,
studying the cause, investigating any alleged miracles and ultimately
forwarding the cause to the Pope for his approval. This process remained in effect until 1983
with the promulgation of the 1983 Code of Canon Law and new norms for causes of
canonization: Divinus Perfectionis
Magister, Normae Servandae in Inquisitionibus ab Episcopis Faciendis in Causis
Sanctorum and Sanctorum Mater
(2007). This revised process for causes of canonization is still in force and
is detailed below.

No precise count
exists of those who have been proclaimed saints since the first centuries.
However, in 1988, to mark its 4th centenary, the Congregation for the Causes of
Saints published the first "Index ac
Status Causarum." This book and its subsequent supplements, written
entirely in Latin, are considered the definitive index of all causes that have
been presented to the Congregation since its institution.

American Saints, Blesseds and Venerables

The American Church
has been blessed with numerous Saints, Blesseds and Venerables, all of whom in
their own unique way witness to Christ's love through their martyrdom or virtuous
lives within our American culture.
Currently, there are eleven American Saints:St. Frances
Xavier Cabrini, St. Marianne
Cope, St. Katharine
Drexel, St. Rose
Philippine Duchesne, St. Mother Théodore
Guérin, St. Isaac Jogues and the North American Martyrs,
St. John Neumann, St. Elizabeth
Ann Seton, St. Father Junípero Serra, O.F.M , St. Kateri
Tekakwitha, and St. Damien de
Veuster (canonized as Damien of Molokaʻi). There are two American Blesseds: Blessed
Father Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss.R.,., and Blessed Sister Miriam Teresa, S.C.
(Teresa Demjanovich). There are fourteen American Venerables: Venerable Father
Nelson Baker, Venerable Bishop Frederic Baraga, Venerable Mother Mary Magdalen
Bentivoglio, O.S.C., Venerable Father Solanus Casey, O.F.M. Cap., Venerable
Cornelia Connelly, S.H.C.J., Venerable Henriette Delille, S.S.F., Venerable
Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik, O.S.F., Venerable Bishop Alphonse Gallegos, O.A.R.,
Venerable Mother Maria Kaupas, S.S.C., Venerable Mother Mary Angeline Teresa
McCrory, O. Carm., Venerable Father Michael McGivney, Venerable Archbishop
Fulton Sheen, Venerable Pierre Toussaint, and Venerable Father Felix Varela

Stage I – Examining the Life of a Candidate for Sainthood

Phase
1: Diocesan or Eparchial Level

Five years
must pass from the time of a candidate's death before a cause may begin. This
is to allow greater balance and objectivity in evaluating the case and to let
the emotions of the moment dissipate. The pope can dispense from this waiting
period.

The bishop
of the diocese or eparchy in which the person died is responsible for beginning
the investigation. The petitioner (who
for example can be the diocese/eparchy, bishop, religious order or association
of the faithful) asks the bishop through a person known as the postulator to
open the investigation.

The bishop
then begins a series of consultations with the episcopal conference, the faithful
of his diocese or eparchy and the Holy See.
Once these consultations are done and he has received the 'nihil
obstat' of the Holy See, he forms a diocesan or eparchial tribunal. The tribunal will investigate the martyrdom
or how the candidate lived a life of heroic virtues, that is, the theological
virtues of faith, hope and charity, and the cardinal virtues of prudence,
justice, temperance and fortitude, and others specific to his or her state in
life. Witnesses will be called and
documents written by and about the candidate must be gathered and examined.

Phase II: Congregation for the Causes of Saints

Once the
diocesan or eparchial investigation is finished, the documentation is sent to
the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The postulator for this phase, residing in Rome, under the direction of
a member of the Congregation's staff called a relator prepares the 'Positio,'
or summary of the documentary evidence from the diocesan or eparchial
phase in order to prove the heroic exercise of virtue or the
martyrdom.

The 'Positio' undergoes an examination by
nine theologians who vote on whether or not the candidate lived a heroic life
or suffered martyrdom. If the majority of the theologians are in favor, the
cause is passed on for examination by cardinals and bishops who are members of
the Congregation. If their judgment is favorable, the prefect of the
Congregation presents the results of the entire course of the cause to the
pope, who gives his approval and authorizes the Congregation to draft a decree
declaring one Venerable if they have lived a virtuous life or a Blessed if they
have been martyred.

Stage II – Beatification

For the beatification
of a Venerable, a miracle attributed to his intercession, verified after
his death, is necessary. The required miracle must be proven through the
appropriate canonical investigation, following a procedure analogous to that
for heroic virtues. This investigation too is concluded with the appropriate
decree. Once the decree on the miracle is promulgated the pope grants the
beatification, which is the concession of limited public veneration – usually
only in the diocese, eparchy, region, or religious community in which the
Blessed lived. With beatification the candidate receives the titled of Blessed. For a martyr, no miracle is
required. Thus when the pope approves the positio declaring that the
person was a martyred for the faith, the title Blessed is granted to the martyr
at that time.

Stage III – Canonization

For
canonization another miracle is needed for both Blessed martyrs and Blesseds
who lived a virtuous life, attributed to the intercession of the Blessed and
having occurred after his or her beatification. The methods for affirming the
miracle are the same as those followed for beatification. Canonization allows
for the public veneration of the Saint by the Universal Church. With
canonization, the Blessed acquires the title of Saint.

Contacts for more information:

Msgr.
Robert SarnoCongregation
for the Causes of SaintsVatican
City011-39-6-6988-4247011-39-6-6988-1935
fax

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